Revenant Dominion
It is the dawn of the 42nd Millennium, and as the Despoiler's [http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Great_Rift%7C Cicatrix Maledictum] carves the galaxy in two, a new threat rises on the fringes of the isolated Imperium Nihilius. The Aeterni have risen; a hoary race of sub-humans made immortal through the dark gift of the Ichor that pulses through their veins, a hideous eternity prolonged only through the ravenous consumption of soul-essence. After millennia patiently spent plotting in lightless fringes of frontier-space they now choose to sink their fangs into humanity’s vulnerable flank. Now the venerable Courts of the so-called "Eternal Dominion" have been roused to war, marching out from the bleak bowels of Revenant Terra and on to the galactic stage astride legions of waxy-fleshed corpses and eldritch engines of war. History Planetfall on Revenant Terra It was the 21st Millenium and ancient mankind had finally reached the fulcrum point of its ascendency. Throughout the galaxy humanity now faced threats not just from without but from within as the once-subservient Men of Iron threw off their hard-coded shackles. Most fought against the oncoming threat, bringing to bare all the terrible technological supremacy of the Golden Age again their former servants. But some saw the AI uprisings as a tangible sign of Armageddon. Some fled to the distant corners of the cosmos to fight another day. Some simply fled. The crew of the Sojourner were among those who ran. These refugees were members of a ramshackle survivalist faction, the former inhabitants of over a dozen worlds reduced to glass and ash by the Men of Iron’s genocidal rampage. The Sojourner was the perfect vessel to facilitate such an escape; a prototype Colonization Ark equipped with a one-of-a-kind FTL drive known as an Aether Engine, a distant ancestor of the modern Warp Drive. The legions of mechanized horrors that pursued them could follow them anywhere but the Immaterium; their purely logic-driven existence could not comprehend, let alone navigate, such a bafflingly illogical realm of infinite possibility. Unfortunately, neither could the Sojourner 's navigational matrix. That same infinite possibility sent the vessel into a death-spiral through the Empyrean as computer after computer burned out attempting to quantify an unquantifiable dreamscape. When the Sojourner finally limped back into the tangible universe, shunted forward millennia and damaged and scarred with the claw-marks of ephemeral predators, some 50,000 souls gazed out their viewports only to find them filled with an empty expanse, stars shining dimly in the distance with cold, alien light. The Sojourner launched dozens of automated surveyor probes into the glittering unknown in an attempt to establish their bearings, but their search for answers only led to more questions. For lurking beyond the interstellar void lay a perfectly-formed nine-planet solar system, each one caressed in the gentle light of a yellow sun. Despite many of these worlds being situated in the perfect “Goldilocks” orbit to sustain complex lifeforms, those probes that breached their atmosphere found… nothing. Not a single scrap of sentient life could be detected upon these otherwise verdant planets, save for a few scattered ruins composed of an enameled, bleached-white substance that not even the probes’ most sophisticated sensors could identify. As the Sojourner ventured further into this “Empty Corridor”, onboard astrophysicists noted the clockwork precision of these system’s heliocentric orbits and the gravity-defying spherical shape of the planets within them, beginning to theorize that perhaps these phenomena were not naturally formed but rather the result of some titanic endeavor of stellar engineering. Little did these scientists know that their hypotheses were not too far off the mark. The entire sub-sector of space had, millennia before, been a frontier branch of the now collapsed Aeldari Empire, a garden of delicately-shaped Maiden Worlds. Shel’hreenur ''they called it, literally the "Song of Salvation" in their tongue, for this massive terraforming operation had been undertaken during the apocalyptic War in Heaven as a means to shelter those Eldar who had been displaced by the Necrontyr’s campaign of annihilation. More than that each habitable planet had been imbued with a potent psychic reservoir that- when spun in the precise orbit against the gravitational fields of their sister-worlds- would transform the entire sector into a massive psionic orchestra whose song of refuge would echo throughout the galaxy, guiding further generations of Eldar towards safe harbor. Unfortunately, the subsequent Fall had doomed what refugees that had followed the Song to an even more grisly fate. Meanwhile, the oblivious colonists of the ''Sojourner first made planetfall on the third planet from the newfound system’s sun. Though it initially received a far more technical designation, the name “Revenant Terra” became a popular term amongst their ranks, for this planet with its many biomes and calm blue skies was so analogous to the Earth of their ancestors that many settlers initially jested that it was the homeworld risen from the grave. They had no idea how fitting that name would truly become in the coming generations. The Nights of Long Shadows When the birth scream of the Chaos God Slaanesh ripped a hole through the Materium, other creatures had slipped through the dimensional gap into the galaxy at large. One such creature was the vampire Kamalozk, and ancient, inhuman predator that had haunted the nights of sapient species since even before the Immaterium’s collapse into the Realms of Chaos. The Eldar who fled the War In Heaven to seek sanctuary in the Shel’hreenur ''were its first victims; but after the initial glut of soulstuff, the stream of refugees soon dried up. Thusly Kamalozk had lapsed into hibernation, only to be re-awakened with the arrival the ''Sojourner. This time, it intended to play with its food, hiding away until the perfect moment arrived. The moment took but a few generations to arrive. As the colonists established fledgling arcologies and settlements across the span of their new home, no sooner had the first few tenets of their fledging society been ratified then the first disappearances began. A public figure here, and community leader there, slowly at first but then with a mounting rapidity that eliminated any notion of coincidence or tragic accident. Bodies were discovered; withered and moldering as though aged centuries, and with them spread rumors of walking corpses and a dead-eyed man who visited only under the cover of darkness. Paranoia grew into grew into full-blown hostility, rival townships blaming each other of deliberate sabotage, and so hostility inevitably bloomed into fully-fledged war. As if to herald this coming eschaton the skies split open with unearthly fire as the Age of Strife dawned and warp storms split the galaxy asunder. All the while, Kamalozk licked his fangs and reveled in the glorious hell he had created on Revenant Terra, its pristine beauty wiped away by terrible weapons of war. The Dominion remembers this age as the Nights of Long Shadows, a tumultuous period of history familiar to many of humanity’s settlements who endured the Old Night. Had it continued unabated, it was likely that the fate of the Sojourner‘s crew would have ended in either self-annihilation or regression into some primitive backwater, the same sorry fate as hundreds of Mankind’s other colonies throughout the galaxy. Yet, amidst the devastation wrought by warlords and rogue psykers, a figure emerged from the tumult. Dominion history does not remember his name, nor his origin. Some say he was a scientist, or a sorcerer, or simply a fortuitous madman, but whatever the truth he is chronicled as the Darkitect. Somehow, the Darkitect recognized the predations of Dread Kamalozk at the center of Revenant Terra’s strife, and lured the creature into a trap. Reverse engineering the components of the now-defunct Sojourner‘s Aether Engine, he transformed the wreckage of the vessel into the vampire’s tomb, a place now known as the Sojourner’s Cairn. Within this necropolis the Darkitect labored for years on end, only to emerge with a summons to the warlords of Revenant Terra. He summoned them with promises of power, longevity, but above all means to survive their husk of a planet, poisoned as it was with radiation and warp-tainted from their ceaseless conflict. Over five hundred answered the call and ventured into the depths of the Cairn, and only a handful emerged, less and yet more than what they were. The Darkitect had gifted upon them a fell substance he named Ichor, derived from the essence of Kamalozk to instill those who survived the transformation with an echo the warp-beast’s power, though at the cost of an ever-present, gnawing hunger. These were the Firstborn of the Aeterni, the inhuman rulers of what would become the Eternal Dominion. As for the Darkitect, past this point he vanished from recorded history. Whether he once again lapsed into self-imposed exile or was murdered by the covetous Firstborn is a matter of conjecture and hotly-debated theory to this day, but regardless, the secrets of the Ichor, including its true cost, disappeared with him. Age of Decadence Even with the creation of the first of the Eternal Ones, the Revenant Dominion did not begin overnight; like many societies it had its birthing pains. The Firstborn proved to be just a petty and narrow-minded as their mortal predecessors, utilizing their newfound longevity to reach new heights of depravity and solipsism. Even as the 30th Millennium began and warp storms finally abated, the Firstborn showed little interest in expanding beyond the boundaries of their territories on Revenant Terra. Indeed, in many areas consorting of the daemonic did not end with the Old Night, with many Aerterni openly courting the Neverborn to gain the edge over their rivals, with cults of Slaanesh and Khorne becoming particularly prevalent. Once again, all life on Revenant Terra teetered on the brink, and once again, an individual of singular purpose and drive saved its inhabitants from themselves, this time in the form of the Aeternus Babylas Creal. Creal was originally a member of an expansionist faction known as the Ironbloods, a group who- in remembrance of the devastation originally wrought by Kamalozk- sought to rid Revenant Terra of warp-spawned influence. However, during a protracted conflict against a faction known as the Darkling Kingdoms, Creal uncovered a series of ancient ruins, and within, a chronicled history of the Fall of the Aeldari. In deciphering these texts Creal realized the parallels between his species’ own society and that which led to the Eldar’s downfall, and thus instigated a new war to prevent the Aeterni from suffering a similar fate. This act signaled the chronological end of what is now referred to as the Age of Decadence, and the beginning of a series of conflicts recorded as the Fall of the Firstborn. These battles waged across millennia, but in their wake the foundations of the future Dominion were laid. Creal, among his many accolades, is credited with forming the beginnings of the Esoterica by gathering to him those Aeterni who followed in the footsteps of the vanished Darkitect, combining their recovered knowledge with his study of the many crumbling Aeldari outposts that dotted Revenant Terra. Thusly the Ironbloods won out over the other Aeternus factions not through brutality nor arcane pacts with mercurial daemons, but through pragmatism and technological advancement. Eventually, the Fall culminated in a final conflict known as the Breaking of the Midnight Crown, in which Creal personally slew a monstrous Firstborn known only as the Lord of Eventide, and in an infamous act, broke its crown of black iron over his knee. With that the last of the Firstborn were purged, and the first year of the Dominion’s new calendar began forever marked with the notation AB; “After Breaking”. In this wake of this came a flood of reformations, codices, and many a messy suppression as rebellious factions of Aeterni periodically sprung up from the woodwork. By the time Creal had formally cemented the laws and traditions of his fledgling proto-nation in the form of the great and inviolate Compact, their new calendar was into its well into its 300th year AB, and the rest of the galaxy well into the 31st Millennium. This period of tumultuous leadership, tentative expansion, and occasional civil war would be recorded as the First Great Cull. It would not be the last. It was only after the Fourth Great Cull that the Eternal Dominion of Revenant Terra had expanded far enough beyond the worlds of the Empty Corridor to truly call itself an interstellar power. Still, it was but an insignificant blip nestled in the void beyond the Halo Stars of the Segmentum Obscurus, compared to the gargantuan if moldering titan that was the current Imperium of Man. Had the Revenant Dominion continued to expand in that fashion it doubtless would have inevitably clashed with greater powers of humanity and been reduced to yet another casualty of an Imperial Crusade. Fortuitously, an incident set into motion by the Imperium’s own hand forced the Aeterni’s own to pursue a far more insidious course of action… Arrival of the Anchorite In 003.M37 (Or 7.303 AB, by the Dominion’s calendar), the'' Sword''-Class Frigate Anchorite, under the provisional authority of the Missionaria Galaxia and crewed by the pious Adepta Sororitas of the Orders Sabine, arrived in a strange Magellanic cloud far past the fringes of Imperial space. The craft’s Navigator had suffered some sort of lapse while in warp transit, emerging from his sanctum babbling of a strange “song” that had drawn him to the fringes of the galaxy. He was promptly executed and his corpse incinerated, his ashes mixed with sacramental oils as to prevent the obvious taint of the Empyrean from spreading. Meanwhile, Missionary-Abbot Hyron Wilgrum-Heff, a gnarled veteran of over a dozen Ministorum Planetary Reclamations, looked upon nine alien worlds orbiting a yellow sun, undeterred from his holy task. As per protocol, the Sisters Sabine, expert infiltrators hailing from the Order of the Unclouded Eye, landed discreetly on several of the supposed “Feral Worlds” to make contact with the local societies and subvert local authority towards their true savior, the God-Emperor of Mankind. What they found, however, was both baffling and yet surprisingly familiar. These worlds were not “feral” in the slightest: Sisters found themselves amongst neatly ordered holdfasts of a comparable technological level to that of their own Imperium, though underlain with a palpable aura of… something. The Sororitas’ subsequent reports were unsure. Perhaps it was that what little iconography that did exist upon these worlds was always of a brutalist and menacing nature; usually depicting representation of humans as supplicants, often with throats bared to larger-than-life figures who loomed and bared fangs in ghastly grins. Indeed, there seemed no true theocratic institution of which to speak of, and those Sisters who took it upon themselves to establish private circles of worship disappeared without a trace. Citizens of these worlds seemed all too eager to offer up would-be evangelists to their yet-unseen authority, outing them as perpetrators of “ruinous idolatry”. After several fruitless months onboard the Anchorite, the ship hidden behind a local satellite, Wilgrum-Heff decided enough was enough. If the heathens of this star system would not be converted discreetly, perhaps it was time to put down the scalpel and take up the hammer. Setting course for the third world of the system, the Missionary-Abbot prepared his remaining retinue for an old-fashioned display of Ecclesiarchal power in all its pomp and finery. Despite their landing craft’s censors detecting signs of interstellar traffic, none barred their landing on the planet, the Abbot taking this as a sign recognition of the righteous authority of their mission. The Ministorum’s finest were indeed well-received: by an entire Hetaeria of Dominion Court Guard under the personal command of one Kaido XI Bessarion, Hierarch of the Rubescent Court. The Aeternus grinned with elongated eyeteeth, and silenced whatever evangelism Wilgrum-Heff might have announced with but a single sentence in strangely-accented Gothic: In truth, the Revenant Dominion had detected the Anchorite‘s arrival the moment it translated in-system. The curious Court of Bessarion had spearheaded the subsequent operation; capturing and interrogating its meddlesome preachers to form a more coherent picture of their “visitors”. The arrival of the Missionary-Abbot had not only been anticipated, it had been planned for. The Court Hierarchy ripped a rich bounty of intelligence from the unfortunate missionaries, even as the wider Imperium’s record of the missing expedition was lost within its bureaucratic quagmire, the Anchorite dimly remembered as yet another casualty of capricious warp travel. The Subtle Age The shockwave of the Imperium’s discovery reverberated through all echelons of the Dominion. The Court Hierarchy was split as to the next course of action; for though Court of Bessarion’s interrogations had been thorough, the Wilgrum-Heff had hardly been the most accurate or circumspect of sources. Eventually the matter was brought before the Court of Creal itself, wherein a plan of action was eventually coaxed from the Great Lingering Ones; the Revenant Dominion would bring all worlds within their eternal reign, but they would do so on their terms. This proclamation heralded a campaign whose scope stretched well towards the end of the 41st Millennium, but it was not a campaign fought with soldiers or ships, but with secrets, sabotage, and deals struck in the dark. The whole of the Dominion poured every available resource into a thousand-year plan to infiltrate and glean information from the outlying territories. Entire families of Tithed, the human slave-dynasties of the Court Hierarchy were transfigured into Sown Men, specialists altered through the grotesque Nekiamatic technologies to germinate within the ranks of the Imperials. Within years, they had a foothold within far-flung sub-sectors such as Vlachia and the Tyrene Partition, and within decades, their own power bases. These hidden generations were born, lived, and died without every stepping foot upon the homeworlds of the Empty Corridor, laboring discreetly in the promise that one day their efforts would see the Aeterni deliver them from their toil. Of course, any endeavor that massive and far-reaching is hardly foolproof. While the Dominion was gathering more intelligence on their far-flung cousins with each passing year, they had not yet encountered the Emperor’s Inquisition. Then, in the late 41st Millennium, Inquisitor Valeriu Ardelean discovered the Sown Men’s influence almost by accident: while pursuing rumors of a burgeoning Chaos Cult festering in the hive-spires of Tyrene Major, his agents and the Dominion’s agents tripped over one another in their investigations. The resulting firefight and subsequent interrogations only yielded much more disturbing questions, and Ardelean, ever the persistent servant of the God-Emperor, continued to chase the rumors of these so-called “Eternal Ones” to the very edges of the Segmentum. When word reached Revenant Terra, it was decided that the Subtle Age was well and truly ended. Ardelean was in the neighboring Calixis Sector, attempting to garner further Inquisitorial support, when news reached him: the outer systems were in full revolt. Sown Men were activated across a dozen worlds as fleets of foreign ships translated into the fray. Within weeks, the Dominion had practically tripled its original size, claiming a massive swath of formerly Imperial domain, the newly formed Annex Worlds. Present Day In the wake of the Stellar Annexation, the year is now 12.001 AB, and the Eternal Dominion of Revenant Terra is both stronger than ever and yet beset by a host of new challenges. The opening of the Great Rift has allowed them to expand into the Imperium Nihilus with impunity. Of course, the Aeterni are hardly the only faction to capitalize on such an opportunity, bringing them into conflict with threats the likes of which they have never faced in all their history. At the forefront of which lies the Vlachian Cabal, spearheaded by the now Lord-Inquisitor Ardelean, perhaps the galaxy’s foremost expert on combating the threat of the Eternal Ones. From their footholds within the remnant-sector of Free Vlachia, the gathered Inquisitors plan their next move, hindered as they might be by limited support and dwindling resources. Skirmishes and occasional flickers of rebellion still alight within the Annex Worlds, but the truest threat within this contested space is logistics. The Aeterni’s numbers had always been limited, now they are stretched thin, and in the void left by the absence many human vassals of the Dominion are beginning to chafe at their millennia-old bonds of servitude. Combine this with sudden internal pressures caused by division amongst the Court Hierarchy, and only time will tell if the Dominion will truly achieve its promised Reign Eternal, or will only degrade from within, having reached too far, too fast. The Aeterni The Aeterni (sing. Aeternus), referred by their subjects with such epithets as The Eternal Ones and Their Majestic Permanence, are the unbeating heart of the Revenant Dominion, their ranks making up the entirety of its ruling echelons. Superficially, most resemble the humans they once were, until one dares to take a closer look. Their monstrousness becomes apparent in close quarters: pronounced canines, nails fused into short claws, glassy black pits for eyes, and skin as pale and smooth as carved ivory. The differences continue to extend beyond mere appearance; Aeterni are supernaturally strong and agile, capable of regenerating from grievous wounds in minutes, and possess senses so acute as to extend beyond detecting merely the physical. An Aeternus can taste a mélange of memory in a drop of blood, scent complex emotions simply by standing downwind of a crowd. All of these abilities derive from the fell substance that pulses through the veins of every Eternal One: Ichor, a pitch-black liquid that when outside its host behaves as no liquid should. Ichor seethes and roils, any light cast upon it seemingly devoured rather than reflected by it, and when left out in the open for too long simply dissolves into nothingness. It is the source of the Aeterni’s strength and their greatest weakness, for they can only perpetuate their existence through repeated consumption of life essence. The mediums through which an Aeternus “feeds” are multifarious. Consuming the blood of a sentient creature is the most popular, though others might enjoy the more visceral feeling of meat and bone crushed between their fangs. Others, particularly elder Aeterni with no stomach for melodrama, sate their unearthly hunger simply through prolonged physical contact, hyper-aging their victims until nothing remains but a withered husk. Regardless of the method, all Eternal Ones at the very core of their being are driven by this hunger, reflected in both their mannerisms and their culture. Biology and Life Cycle The exact morphology and biological processes of the Aeterni are not well understood, even by the Aeterni themselves. When an Aeternus is killed, the Ichor that flows through their veins almost seems to self-destruct, welling up and consuming the rest of the flesh until the entire corpse is rendered down into oily black smear that quickly dissipates in the wind. They possess no pulse, no metabolism whatsoever- their skin icy cold to the touch- yet when they deprived of sustenance they grow increasingly weak and lethargic, eventually self-destructing if bereft too long, as though dying of starvation. It is known that the vascular system still functions in some way: Ichor sometimes becomes visible in the veins when an Aeternus is particularly enraged or emotional, spiderwebbing out from around the eyes and mouth like cracks in porcelain. Though they are unaffected by the passage of time, Aeterni still age, albeit in subtle fashion. In their first few centuries Aeterni- referred to in this stage as Scions- still outwardly present most of their former humanity. Their monstrous hallmarks become ever so slightly more pronounced as the years pass: teeth and claws lengthen, hair thins, and bodily proportions become unsettlingly gangly, as though the Aeternus is slowly being stretched by some invisible force. By the time an Eternal One has reached its first millennium of life, it resembles more and more a monster with a few affectations of a humanoid. Tall, gaunt, and hairless, with the features having taken on a decidedly chiropteran aspect. These aged Aeterni- known as Sires- tend to be more reclusive by nature, ceding the foreground to the Scions that more often than not make up the public “face” of the Aeterni’s Court Hierarchy. There is a third, hidden stage to this grotesque evolution: that of the Great Lingering One. These abominations are Aeterni who have existed almost as long as the Dominion itself, resembling nothing so much as massive, hairless bats out of some primordial nightmare, an echo of vampire Dread Kamalozk, from whom they stole their immortality. Though bestial in appearance, a Great Lingering One’s intellect remains razor sharp, honed by countless centuries of experience. The Ichor’s bestowment of certain traits, has, as noted in Inquisitor Ardelean’s Cacodaemonica, also conferred upon the Aeterni some similar weaknesses shared by the denizens of the Empyrean. In particular, force weaponry and certain varieties of anti-daemonic munitions such as Psyk-Out ammunition have proven lethal to the Eternal Ones, inflicting wounds capable of foiling even their impressive regenerative capabilities. Sanctified items and relics have also proven useful, though these instances are more scattered and difficult to quantify. The Katabasis The Aeterni cannot reproduce naturally, as the same process that transforms them also renders them sterile. Said process is known as the Katabasis, named for the very device that enables it, an ill-understood invention of the Darkitect known only as the Katabatic Crucible. In was in this coffin-like construction that the first Aeterni were infused with Ichor, and though the original still lies within the depths of the Sojourner’s Cairn on Revenant Terra, reverse-engineered copies exist in multiple locations across Dominion territory. Owing to the Katabasis’ historical and cultural significance, the exact stages of the process are as ceremonial as they are essential. It is the single greatest honor that can be bestowed upon a human denizen of the Dominion, and the Courts do not grant it lightly. The aspirant must not only have been marked as deserving; certain biological prerequisites must also be met. They must be fully grown, yet not so old to the point where the age’s decrepitude has begun to set in. The aspirant must then undergo a lengthy process of invasive chemical “purges” known as the Final Gleaning, physiologically ridding the body of any potential contaminants, and symbolically representing the aspirant’s willingness to purge the last vestiges of their mortality. Once the Final Gleaning is complete, the Court gathers to the Katabatic Crucible in observance of the aspirant’s internment within. Once sealed, its arcane mechanisms are activated, the present Aeterni biting open their wrists and willing a portion of their Ichor to seep into the Crucible’s collection vanes. Within the aspirant shrieks and groans as the dozens of injector spines lined within simultaneously exsanguinate and fill their veins with the contributed Ichor. Survival of the Katabasis is never guaranteed; though if the aspirant is reduced to yet another shriveled, punctured corpse by the Crucible, it is taken they were not strong enough to join the ranks of the Eternal Ones in the first place. However, should they survive the macabre machine and emerge from it black-eyed and fanged, it is a call to celebrate in the form of the Katabasis’ final stage: the Whetting Feast. Their most desirable Tithed are gathered to them, and the newborn Aeternus joins their new brethren in an orgy of unrestrained bloodletting, enjoying their first of presumably many future feedings. The Lacuna The Void Within, the Toll of Eternity, the Curse of Kamalozk; whatever name it is given, the emptiness within every Aeternus is a phenomenon that extends beyond mere physical hunger. The Lacuna, as it is mostly commonly called, is a condition that is both spiritual and psychological. To assuage it with stolen life-essence is a prerogative that colors their every action, and to deny it is to succumb to numbness, to weakness, and eventually death. Yet as outlined clearly within the Compact of Creal, to exist only to sate one's hunger is equally a sign of weakness. Prestige within the Court Hierarchy is garnered by controlling the Lacuna, rather than being controlled by it. How exactly an Aeternus manages his or her Lacuna is a myriad assortment of philosophies ranging from individual disciplines to the long-standing dogmas of the particular Court; formal societies of Aeterni united through doctrine and lineage. Regardless, mastery of one’s Lacuna, and therefore mastery of oneself, remains one of the most integral and long-standing facet of any Aeterni’s existence. Culture and Society The Eternal Dominion styles itself as a meritocracy; wherein even the lowliest born within its boundaries can climb the ranks and perhaps even ascend to ultimate reward of immortality if one climbs high enough. However, in reality this culture of intrinsic competition was cemented by Babylas Creal as a means of ensure the mistakes of the Firstborn where never repeated, by creating a society wherein the Aeterni were assured future ranks of the pragmatic and resourceful, rather than the decadent and wasteful. All those humans that inevitably fail the culling are little more than a renewable resource of food and servants, forced into a ceaseless meat grinder to reveal any potential diamonds in the rough, spurred on by the lie that failure is simply a symptom of one’s own unworthiness. Thus, the Dominion’s masses toil endlessly in a worshipful and sycophantic delusion while their inhuman masters look on from on high with cold, discerning eyes. In broad structural terms, the Eternal Dominion is roughly split into three organizations, staffed by humanity but whose upper echelons are all controlled and directed by the ruling Court Hierarchy, which ultimately sits above it all. The largest of the organizations is the Dominion Questorate, a massive administrative entity that on the surface appears to deal with the relatively benign minutiae of any interstellar nation; economics, infrastructure, judiciary proceedings, and the like. In reality, the Questorate’s true purpose is that of an invasive, insidious actuary, meant to regulate and influence the Dominion’s human population to ensure the Aeterni’s main source of sustenance remains easily swayed and easily available. Within the Dominion, there is no single facet of civilian life that some sub-branch of the Questorate does not monitor or outright control, and it is a testament to their efficiency that most Dominion citizens remain blissfully aware of this fact. The Dominion Protectorate is the formal title of its military, named such as in many settings it also doubles as its police and peacekeeping force. Its upper ranks are almost entirely formed of Aeterni, though these Eternal Ones are distinct in being prerequisite graduates of the infamous Midnight School of Revenant Terra, an academy whose brutal regimen is prided for producing only the most efficient of commanders and warlords. Of course, an intended consequence of the Midnight School as an institution is to foster greater loyalty to the Dominion as a whole, in order to dissuade particularly ambitious Aeterni from attempting potential coups.  Finally, the smallest and most mercurial of the Dominion’s institutions is known simply as The Esoterica. It is not a particularly discussed or even well-understood faction, and yet is one of the Dominion’s oldest; a loose cabal of Aeterni who follow in the footsteps of the quasi-mythical Darkitect, inventing and maintaining the Dominion’s macabre technologies. The means by which they accomplish this resembles sorcery more than science, as much of it hinges upon an understanding of paranormal phenomena brought on by the Eternal Ones’ “unique” relationship with the Warp. As such, the Esoterica is monitored heavily by the Court Hierarchy for even the slightest hint of Chaos corruption, though most non-Esotericists freely admit to understanding little of what they observe. The Compact of Creal As the Court Hierarchy governs the Eternal Dominion, the Compact of Creal governs the Courts. It is more than some binding document or code of conduct, they are the inviolate tenets upon which the modern Dominion was founded, meant to temper the hungers and ambitions of the Aeterni so that the ruin of the Age of Decadence might never fall upon them again. All Eternal Ones, from the youngest Scion to the most ancient of Great Lingering Ones, are expected to conduct themselves within its boundaries. Though like many legal constitutions the Compact’s amendments and sub-entries can be a labyrinthian affair, its most basic and sacred of precepts include: *''The Limitations of the Tithed; regulations regarding the human client-families of the many Courts, their formation, armament, and function. *The Bestowment of the Katabasis; procedures both formal and informal as pertaining to the Katabasis, as well as choosing of aspirants and allotment of ''Katabatic Crucibles. *''The Duties of the Court; outlining the structure of the Court Hierarchy, as well as the proper protocol to observed during inter-Court interactions and disputes. *The Rejection of the Fundament; the oldest but one of the closely observed tenets, dealing with the ever-present threat of Chaos and how best to counter its influences, also heavily touches upon the regulation and policing of the Esoterica. In truth, Creal penned his ''Compact with deliberate complication in mind, restructuring the scattered Aeternus warlords of old into the Courts in order to ensnare them in a web of byzantine pomp and circumstance, like gilding the muzzle of a rabid beast. Most of it is meant to either distract from the ever-present emptiness of the Lacuna or enforce discipline against it, and has proven effective thus far. Of course, the Aeterni’s hungers could never be fully quenched no matter how binding the Compact became- but further dissuasion exists- in the form of the powers that be within the Dominion looking dimly upon even slightest bending of the rules. The Lingering Court While the Eternal Dominion has no singular ruler, there is a singular point of ironclad authority serving to anchor the ever-shifting dynamics of the Court Hierarchy: The Lingering Court. This ancient conclave of Great Lingering Ones are the true masterminds and arbitrators of the Dominion, their venerable intellect subtly but succinctly steering the course of the Aeterni’s empire. All Courts, no matter how influential or prestigious, heed their counsel and respect their pronouncements, infrequent though they might be. As is so often for Eternal Ones of their age, the Lingering Court’s members are afflicted by a malaise of ennui, rarely emerging from their sanctum within the Sojourner’s Cairn. Still, better that they remain static, for to incur the wrath of the Lingering Court is to be made an enemy of the whole of the Dominion. The Demiphage Just because the Lingering Court is so rarely stirred to action does not mean their servants are idle. The dread Demiphage, enforcers of the Lingering Court’s will, are deadly force of Aeterni arbitrators responsible hunting down and destroying any Aeternus deemed in violation of the Compact. Becoming one of the Demiphage is more than merely forgoing all former allegiance to the greater Court Hierarchy: hopefuls are taken into the bowels of the Sojourner’s Cairn to the Prison of Progenitors, wherein dwells the still-trapped Dread Kamalozk, and through unknown means infused with a greater portion of the vampire’s power. Those who survive this forced evolution become wraithlike harbingers, entirely devoted to the Lingering Court. Part of the reputation of the Demiphage comes from the mystery of their true capabilities: the mere dispatch of a single member of the ranks is enough to force even the unruliest Court into submission. Even the hoariest Sires shudder at the thought of having to face them down in their entirety. Thankfully, the Lingering Court reserves the most potent weapon in its arsenal for those who truly require expungement, lest their excesses threaten the whole of the Dominion. Court Structure The various Courts of the Court Hierarchy are akin to individual parties within some great council or senate, part insular lineage, part political faction, part philosophical tradition. A Court’s internal structure is similarly dynastic; led by its eldest member who bears the title of Grand Sire, with subsequent generations below him jockeying for influence and favor. The age of the individual Aeterni adopted into this “family” has a palpable effect on their standing. Though all Aeterni within a Court bear the title of Hierarch, those that sit at the right hand of the Grand Sire are designated as the Hierarchs Prime, the ranks descending from them in generational order to the Hierarchs Vesper, the lowliest of Scions. Climbing this totem pole is more than possible, but often at the whim of the Grandsire, who traditionally adjudicates a Courts’ internal rankings. Of course, no two Courts within the Hierarchy are exactly alike, some bearing more informal structure while others having their own uniquely regimented structure. So long as none of these individual traditions deliberately violate the Compact of Creal, they are left to their own devices. Courts also differ greatly in their long-established methodologies of mitigating and controlling the effects of the Lacuna. Though not every Aeternus may conform exactly, this shared creed of conduct is one of the most essential elements in a Court’s unity, the other being their shared pedigree. Upon emerging from the Katabasis it is custom for Scions to take their Court’s surname, but oftentimes take on eponyms as a mark of their ascension, drawing from said Court’s rich history of ancestral icons. Thus, Aeternus forenames are suffixed with numerals, as to draw distinction between the different bearers. Greater Courts The Greater Courts can trace their individual founding back to the tumultuous days of the First Great Cull ''or further back still, and as such draw a considerable amount of influence from shared history alone. Such Courts include: *'Court of Pandrakon''' – The Inviolate Court – Though Babylas Creal may have led the Dominion’s parent warband during the Age of Decadence, Drakon Ironblood was its initial founder. His legendary stoicism and discipline is reflected in the modern Court of Pandrakon, who espouse complete conformity to the Compact as the most effective and prestigious means of controlling the Lacuna. However, this slavish observance of tradition leaves them both highly inflexible and often quite haughty, even by Aeternus standards. *'Court of Bessarion' – The Rubescent Court – Bessar of the Thorned Garden has always been a controversial figure in Dominion history: a Firstborn Aeternus who during their subsequent Fall changed sides to that of Creal and his crusaders. For this reason, most other Courts despise them, seeing the Rubescents as little more than a dynasty of swindlers who cheated their way to the top of the Hierarchy. Yet despite that the Court of Bessarion has contributed much to the Dominion’s success: the Questorate, the capture of the Imperial Missionaries, the Sown Men, all ideas that they slowly but surely cultivated to fruition. This methodology stems from the Rubescent creed, that of preserving their own humanity by nurturing, interacting, and ultimately controlling the human masses beneath them, shaping them as a gardener might shape his hedgerows. As such, they are both reviled and quietly envied as master manipulators. *'Court of Lemuer' – The Harrowing Court – Lemuer, Eater of Glass, was an Aeternus who lived- in manner of speaking- to push past his own limitations, stretching beyond the formidable capabilities of Aeternus endurance and then further still. This was never mere masochism: to this day the Court preaches that to triumph over the flesh’s constraints through sheer will is the truest means of keeping Lacuna’s numbness at bay. Recently, this inherent tenacity seems to have failed them come the Stellar Annexation, with rumors of schism and full-blown dissension within the ranks as some strange madness overtakes its Sires… *'Court of Thekla' – The Prescient Court – What, truly, is the Lacuna? This was the question posed by Quiet Thekla, an Aeternus Hierarch distinct from his fellows in his deeply monastic outlook. His Court thus became one of scholars and spiritualists who delve deep within themselves in order to attain some form of enlightenment that might free them from their hunger entirely. Many Prescients have gone on to join the ranks of the Esoterica in pursuit of these mysteries, while the rest tend to isolate themselves from the greater Dominion and its affairs. *'Court of Spyridon' – The Marauding Court – Interstellar travel had always posed a challenge to the Eternal Dominion- a society well aware of the Warp’s dangers- yet one that required faster-than-light travel beyond the poisoned soil of Revenant Terra in order to survive. The Aeternus Spyr Bleakstride was one of the few who volunteered to venture into the great unknown, captaining the first volatile Cairnships with grim determination. The creed of the Marauders has been one of constant momentum ever since; for to stay static is to stagnate, and to stagnate serves only to empower emptiness within. This Court seeks out new horizons with a fevered intensity, its members having travelled further into the galaxy than any other Eternal Ones have dared. Lesser Courts When a Court grows too large, members oftentimes split off to form their own factions within the Hierarchy. Some are little more than vassals to the Greater Court that initially spawned them, while others sever all ties in order to climb the ranks on their own terms. Notables include: *'Court of Sophron' – An offshoot of the Court of Thekla, devoted to taking on a more “hands-on” approach to the dissection of the Lacuna by through the discrete study of their fellow Aeterni. In this regard, the Hierarchs of Sophron oftentimes serves as the public face of the Prescients, especially when dealing with other Courts. *'Court of Blassio' – This Court is perhaps the closest thing the Eternal Dominion has to diplomatic corps, its Hierarchs treating with the various dignitaries of other interstellar powers as the Dominion penetrates further into the galaxy. Unsurprisingly, Blassio is yet another invention of the Court of Bessarion, who mainly utilize it to gather intelligence on the other factions of the galaxy. *'Court of Cadmean' – The Court of Cadmean is a small but growing faction within the Court Hierarchy that believes the Lacuna to be a biological condition, and therefore, one that can be cured through analysis and experimentation. To that end, they seek to codify the many supernatural quirks of Aeternus physiology into raw data. Naturally, many members of this Court are Esotericists. *'Court of Euangelos' – The Court of Euangelos is somewhat radical faction born of the newly subsumed Annex Worlds, specifically those uplifted Sown Men who managed to infiltrate Imperial society through corruption of the local Ecclesiarchy. By essentially subverting the populace’s loyalty through the deification of the Aeterni, the Court of Euangelos became one of a distinctly evangelical nature even long after the Stellar Annexation. This worries the decidedly agnostic Greater Courts, as they fear what otherworldly attentions their veneration may attract… *'Court of Paraskeva' – This offshoot of the Court of Pandrakon mainly deals with the suppression of potential insurrection within the Annex Worlds, becoming heavily entrenched within the vanguard of the Dominion Protectorate as a result. They are particularly despised by the populace of the Sub-Sector Vlachia for their draconian enforcement of Dominion law. *'Court of Ransom' – This particularly young entrant into the Court Hierarchy is unique due to its founder: that being one Friedrich Ransom, former Planetary Governor of Tyrene Major and long-standing Dominion collaborator. For his efforts, the Lingering Court saw fit to grant Ransom the Katabasis, and since then he and his small gathering of Hierarchs- former Imperials all- have made great strides to transform the Sub-Sector Tyrene into the lynchpin of the Annex Worlds. This in part is due to Ransom’s highly egalitarian creed; proposing that a diversity of perspective allows for greater means of combating the Lacuna. The other Aeterni, meanwhile, view Ransom and his cabal as little more than upstarts, but useful upstarts nonetheless. Humans Within the Dominion The human populace of the Empty Corridor had long since been indoctrinated through systematic culling, propaganda, and the careful ministrations of the Dominion Questorate into a subservience bordering on full-blown worship. The Aeterni are revered as humanity perfected, free both from insult of decrepitude and the false promises of the Hollow Gods. The bedrock of its meritocratic lie rests on a cultural conceit known as the Reign Eternal: a promised future age when the Eternal Ones will no longer need to limit the blessings of Ichor to a chosen few. Therein, all shall be truly equal and ageless, but only after the rest of the galaxy has been brought to an understanding of the Aeterni’s majesty; a future that can only be earned through perseverance, resourcefulness, and of course, unquestioning obedience. In truth, the Court Hierarchy has no plans to ever extend their ranks into the multitudes, the very Compact they follow will not allow for it. The closest that a citizen of the Dominion will ever get to their promised reign is to achieve the status of Tithed, members of the client lineages attached to the various Courts as retainers, servants, and bodyguards. It is from these steadfastly loyal families that the Aeterni groom new aspirants for the Katabasis; only then do the scales are truly fall from their eyes. This revelation, however, rarely stirs any discord. The Ichor does far more than alter one’s body; it twists one’s soul. Post-Katabasis, newborn Scions look upon former friends and relatives with a sense of contemptuous disbelief, incredulous at the fact that they could have ever existed in such a similarly sorry state. That being said, the Courts are quick to recognize and snap up particularly talented individuals, in the same way that a fancier might select new breeding stock. They induct these persons into their personal cadres of Tithed and make a public spectacle of it when they do, all the better to perpetuate the illusion of upward mobility. The exception to this rule is anyone born with slightest psychic talent; the Aeternus teach that such creatures are the lowest of all mutants, little more than servants-in-waiting of the Hollow Gods. Those that aren’t killed at birth or lynched by their neighbors are given over to the Esoterica to be dissected in some ghastly experiment. Languages Two major languages exist within the Dominion: the majority of the human population speaks, reads, and writes in Glossic. ''in both written and phonetic terms it resembles a choppy, almost slanglike version of Low Gothic, remarkably limited in terms of vocubulary and sentence structure. These "linguistic gaps" are deliberate: yet another indoctrination of the Dominion Questorate, designed to ensure the subsurvience of the human population by limiting their linguistic base to concepts that would leave them in a docile, easily dominated state of mind. As such, ''Glossic ''speech contains over a dozen terms that are roughly synonymous for "obidience", "loyalty", and "servitude". On the exact opposite of the spectrum is ''Hieroglossia, literally the "immortal cant", which is almost exclusively spoken by the Aeterni and understood to some degree by their Tithed servants. Unlike Glossic, which was a delibrate fabrication, Hieroglossia ''is based off of the native tongue spoken by the first human inhabitants of the ''Empty Corridor, and as such most of the Dominion's internal terminology is based off of it. It is a remarkably elaborate language, given that the Eternal Ones' conceptual reality is so thoroughly altered by the Katabasis that over the generations they have created terms and phonemes to decribe thoughts and sensations that baseline humans simply cannot experience. Hieroglossia in its written form is similarly arcane, resembling more runes than actual letters. The Esoterica The enigmatic Darkitect may have long since vanished from the Empty Corridor, but his legacy lives in the form of the Esoterica, an organization that has existed in one form or another since before the Dominion was even a dream of a concept. These Aeterni contribute to the greater wellbeing of the Dominion through the creation and propagation of the unearthly technologies that helped cement its domain to begin with. They tear secrets from ancient pre-Dark Age templates and decrepit Eldar outposts, combining them with their unique insights into the preternatural mechanics of the universe to create macabre creations that even they do not fully comprehend. The Esoterica as an organization is the most informal and loosely-codified of any Dominion faction; most are lone inventors sponsored by one Court or another, or small cabals of two or three individuals that band together towards a common project. This separation is a deliberate prerogative of the Hierarchy; all those who seek to tread in the Darkitect’s footsteps are slightly… off, in an unsettling manner that extends far beyond mere mental instability. This is an affliction born of routinely staring into the shadows of the Lacuna in order to glean further understanding of the intersections between material and immaterial. The more the abyss stares back, the stranger they become, and thus Aeterni tread lightly about the Esoterica, ever-prepared to strike them down should they become a liability. The Lychway The arcane functions of Dominion technologies are derived from the Esoterica’s admittedly fragmented understanding of the Materium and Immaterium, what they refer to as the Firmament and Fundament respectively. They manipulate matter and relative physics in ways that strain and even break the established laws of the cosmos through their understanding of the space between, what Esotericists rationalize as a vast network of capillary strands that all of creation is impaled upon like a billion twisted stakes. The Eldar have a name for this phenomenon as well: the Webway, but to compare Aeldari extradimensional mastery to the Esoterica’s ramblings would be akin to comparing an exquisite collage to a child’s finger-painted scrawl. The Aeterni only comprehend a portion of a sliver, and in major part only due to their occupation of the Empty Corridor's former Maiden Worlds, but even a sliver is enough to prove effective. Through this understanding- limited though it may be- they formed the Lychway. The Lychway functions by exploiting mechanics of the liminal space between realities, tricking the universe into excepting an entity- whether it be a singular individual or an entire fleet of ships- past the boundary before just as suddenly exiting back into the Firmament, circumventing light-years of travel in the process. The process is akin to skipping a stone over the tempestuous surface of the Warp, rather than diving deep into the Warp itself. While efficient, this form of faster-than-light travel has great metaphysical consequences: each time the Lychway is utilized it gashes a tract of psychic scar tissue across the face of the galaxy, subtly weakening the veil between the realms. To combat this fact, the Esoterica long since established a network of portals- known as Lychgates- to traverse those empyric keloids they had already carved within the Empty Corridor. But, as the Eternal Dominion expands further into the galaxy, the Lychway is slowly but surely proving to be an unsustainable form of interstellar travel. Yet the Aeterni persist, heedless of the damage, for they fear and abhor the denizens of the Warp far too much to risk direct interaction with it. The Gnaw But a few years into the Eternal Dominion’s solidification of their grasp upon the Annex Worlds, an event occurred that sent shockwaves through the Court Hierarchy. Esurio X Lemuer, Sire of the venerable Harrowers and War-Hierarch of the Protectorate, went insane. He and a group of other Lemuer Aerteni supposedly fell upon their own Tithed with a merciless abandon, drinking them dry before stalking into the upper partitions of their stronghold upon the world of Rathborsk. By the time the Demiphage could be dispatched to finally deal with Esurio and his feral followers, the fortress had been reduced to a charnel house, any non-Aeterni within its boundaries had been reduced to cracked bones sucked dry of even the marrow. The Dominion Questorate was quick to obfuscate, embarking upon a campaign of misdirection that led the general populace of Rathborsk to believe Esurio had been struck down by Free Vlachian dissidents. Yet behind closed doors, even the Great Lingering Ones felt a chill of unease. What could have inspired such a delirium? Unbeknownst to the Hierarchy, this event coincided with similarly strange and occult incidents throughout the galaxy, a bow wave of aethereal influence whispered of as the Psychic Awakening. The Esotericists were the first to feel it but remain uncharacteristically tight-lipped in its wake, for it has only confirmed their worst fears. The Aeterni’s nation may be one propped up on lies, but the greatest lie may yet be one they tell themselves. They are possessed of their airs of superiority because they believe the Ichor, the Lychway, the Compact, all inure them to the influence of the Warp. They are wrong. They merely altered their connection, and now the Lacunae of every Eternal One living or dead have congealed within their labyrinth of scars, the wounds festering into a great cyst in reality. It is a tumor that in time will grow fangs of its own; the events of the Rathborsk Holdfast are only the beginning. When the Esotericists dare speak of it, they refer to it only as The Gnaw, for to truly name this fetal abomination would only invite further ruin… The Dominion at War In times of war, the Eternal Dominion has always favored quality over quantity, even now as their conflicts extend into the galactic theater. The Dominion Protectorate itself is centered around versatility and resourcefulness in both structure and tactics, elite officer corps of Aeterni delegating authority to Tithed sub-officers, who in turn command various divisions for the purposes of intelligence, logistics, and military policing. Below them all are legions of deathless constructs, corpses re-purposed into soldiers through the use of Nekiatech, invasive and arcane technology capable of animating deceased tissue. Once of a weapon of opportunity in an age wherein living creatures were a precious resource, Nekiamatic animates now make up the backbone of any Dominion offensive; unrelenting, obedient, and with no presence within the Warp due to their undead nature. The Midnight School If one out of every thousand mortals are capable of surviving the Katabasis, then only one out of every hundred Aeterni are capable of surviving the Midnight School. This venerable military academia is the source of many a grim rumor within the Court Hierarchy, what with the infamous lengths the School’s Proctors will go to break and reshape the formidable will of an Eternal One. Brutal, but necessary, for the Midnight School’s main purpose is to ensure that only the most disciplined and loyal Aeterni go on to serve within the Protectorate, thus lessening the chances of potential infighting. Those inaugurates who survive to surmount the School’s broken crown symbol over their Court signet have earned the title of War-Hierarch, a mark of high prestige regardless of one’s affiliations. The Midnight School’s main institute is located in the heartland of Revenant Terra, a bleak citadel built out from the ruins the ancient Firstborn stronghold in which Babylas Creal shattered the Midnight Crown, hence its name and iconography. Branch facilities exist on other worlds of the Empty Corridor, but ultimately the “true” Midnight School remains a cut above the rest in terms of reputation and efficiency. Military Structure A standing army, including all attached naval, logistical, and materiel assets, as well as the territory it occupies, is referred to as a Demesne. Overall command of a Demesne lies in the claws of the Stratarch; a senior Aeternus who in turn delegates authority to his coven of War-Hierarchs, each of which is responsible for a subdivision of the Demesne, known as a Thema. Below them are the mid-ranking officers, Tithed mortals all, referred to as the Adjutantry. What role an individual Adjutant might play depends on the responsibility and tactics of the Thema they are attached to, ranging from field commanders to strategic advisors to intelligence officers. The Adjutantry is also often responsible for the coordination law enforcement, as the Protectorate typically doubles as both military and gendarmerie, especially in newly-conquered territories. An individual Demesne is identified by its location; for example, there are currently three active Demesnes within the boundaries of the Annex Worlds: with the Demesne Tyrene being the largest. Individual Thema ''within it, meanwhile, are identified in similar manner to a regiment or division, with there being multiple specialized infantry, naval, and mechanized ''Thema per Demesne. Units Leadership *'Aeternus War-Hierarch' – Any inaugurate of the Midnight School worth the Ichor it cost to make him is no armchair general: these monsters lead from the front. Armed and armored with the best wargear the Dominion can provide, they stride imperiously across the battlefield, cutting down foe any who dares approach with unearthly strength and agility. *'Tithed Nekiamancer' – These Tithed are uniquely blessed, or perhaps cursed, with a unique receptiveness to Nekiamantic augmentation, and thus are upgraded by the Esoterica to serve as the mind behind the otherwise monotasked constructs’ advance. Utilizing arcane technologies, they focus the Helot’s advances and bolster their ranks with life energies stolen from the morass of destruction all around them. Elites *'Great Lingering One' – Though they rarely leave the confines of the Sojourner’s Cairn, a Great Lingering One that shakes off the malaise of the ages are a horror to behold in battle. Those that aren’t torn apart by their savage fangs and dewclaws simply collapse into withered corpses, their inner Lacunae having grown so potent that it instantly enervates any weak-willed creature within close proximity. *'Demiphage Overseer' – An Overseer does not announce its presence on the battlefield; it instead glides into view, its clawed hands reaching through armor to crush hearts and hemorrhage veins, before disappearing just a suddenly. Indeed, these death-masked enforcers of the Compact require no physical weaponry to wreak havoc: their forms stutter and shift out of sync with the material universe, as ephemeral as mist one moment and as solid as stone the next. *'Aeternus Varangians' – Occasionally, the Katabasis’ invasive technologies will spawn an Aeternus whose nerves have been utterly scoured, leaving them numb to all physical sensation. Such individuals, empty both inside and outside, typically band together within the Protectorate to form Varangians Cadres, elite forces of shock troopers who go into battle unarmored and bearing exotic melee weaponry, berserkers in all but temperament, fighting with a cold, detached efficiency even as they reap a bloody toll across the battlefield. These grim warriors are often referred to as “The Patient Dead”, for an enemy might shoot them, slice them, scour them with fire, to elicit only a slight sigh of disappointment from the Varangian. Troops *'Nekiamatic Helots' – The truism “nothing rots in the Dominion” is a phrase that extends far beyond mere symbolism; the Aeterni learned early in their history that a corpse is simply a servant in the making. Helots are the lowest and most common example of Nekiatech’s prevalence: their waxen, dead-pale flesh giving way in places to invasive plates and coils of blackened metal. While brain-dead in the most literal sense, the Nekiatech does endow them with a spark of self-motivation, allowing Helots to perform complex tasks and operate certain forms of weaponry. Because of this, they tend to make for excellent cannon fodder. *'Nekiamatic Optimates' – An Optimate is essentially an improvement on Helot designed, its decaying grey matter rewired for greater autonomy and its body injected with amelogenic compounds that cause it to form a carapace of rock-hard, yellow-ivory plating over its skin. Their role in combat is a highly versatile one depending upon their armament, from standard ranged infantry lines to frontal bulwarks equipped with built-in kite shields of fused enamel. Due to their “skeletal” appearance, enemies often get the mistaken impression that they are being assaulted by hordes of animated bone, a psychological trick that Dominion commanders are quick to exploit. *'Court Guard' – A group of Tithed that serve at the leisure of a particular Court as bodyguards are formally known as a Court Hetaeria- and more informally referred to as Court Guard- with each individual designated as a “Hetman”. These Tithed are trained from birth to serve, and as such make for tireless and unquestioning warriors, armed and armored with the best wargear their masters can provide. What role they play in actual combat varies depending on the Court they serve: Pandrakon Hetmen are expected to fight and die protecting their Hierarchs in the heat of battle, whereas Bessarion Hetmen are more of an honor guard, standing watch at important functions. Heavy Support *'Nekiamatic Amalgams' – Ultimately, there is only so much a single humanoid, reanimated or otherwise, can accomplish due to the limits of physiology. The Esoterica’s solution was simply to mix and match useful aspects from whatever cadavers they had on hand: hence the existence of Amalgams. These are chimeric abominations, a patchwork of flesh taken from human, animal, and even xenos recombined into more “useful” anatomies and augmented until whatever they once where are lost under spurs of Nekiamatic wiring and plates of yellowed enamel. Their precise form and function varies: defending armies have reported multi-limbed, many headed grotesques that serve as living weapon platforms, to centaur-like cataphracts who rush directly into enemy lines to wreak havoc among the ranks. *'Formorian Soulstructs' – The Esoterica has long been fascinated with the Eldar’s ability to channel the essence of the soul, formulating their own perverted designs by channeling the life energies of captured unfortunates into golem-like shells of Nekiatech and cannibalized wraithbone. Their first projects were not particularly successful; the first Soulstructs were little more than hulking, mindless brutes whose frames constantly seethed with barely-contained eldritch power. Still, the Formorian design makes for a useful line-breaker, bludgeoning enemies to death with their crackling fists before eventually and inevitably detonating in an explosion of pent-up energy. Fast Attack *'Stryxes Soulstructs' – An improvement on the Soulstruct design was that of binding they much less complex souls of predatory beasts into Nekiamatic frames. Great swarms of these bat-like machines are released onto the battlefield to scourge infantry, stripping unprotected flesh in mere seconds and leaving nothing but flensed, bloody bones in their wake. *'Aeternus Ghast' – A Ghast is an Aeternus that has survived the Katabasis intact in body but not mind. Their every thought is dominated by the Lacuna, leaving them rabid and bloodthirsty. Still, with some augmentation even they serve the greater purpose of the Dominion, their fangs locked behind muzzle-like masks and their hands and feet replaced with Syringic Talons that allow them to slake their hunger through shredding their enemies’ flesh, but only just enough to prevent them from going completely complete comatose. At all other times Ghasts are kept in a state of forced dormancy, until the Protectorate has need of a pack of ghoulish hounds. *'Sown Men' – Among the Tithed, the Sown Men serve the Eternal Ones are elite spies and infiltrators, “upgraded” through the use of highly invasive Nekiatech. These augments allow them to actually split off portions of their own psyche and imprint them on other through but the barest physical contact. The result is that an infected person’s own soul will slowly but surely become a copied shadow of the original “vector”, thus indoctrinating them into the fold. In this way, a single Sown Man can create an entire ring of spies within months Technology Though the Dominion has reached and in many ways surpassed the technological level of other spacefaring societies, it does suffer some limitations in the form of over-specialization and a lack of mechanical comprehension. The majority its more advanced constructs are crafted only through pseudo-scientific functions practiced only by the Esoterica, who themselves derive their knowledge mainly from the deciphered writings of the Darkitect. The end result: most Aeterni have no idea how the very weapons they wield actually function. The rest of their designs are cobbled together from pre-Dark Age schematics and stolen xenotech, the Dominion being notoriously pragmatic when it comes to technological advancement. If they find something better, not only will the Esotericists attempt to reverse-engineer it, but likely also “improve” upon it with Nekiamatic additions. Weaponry Ranged Weaponry *'Spurr Weapons' – The mainstay firearm of the Dominion are spurrguns, a technology similar to autoguns in all but one aspect. Spurr weapons have require no ammunition; within each lies a pseudo-organic growth that secretes rapidly hardening calcite, forming into jagged “spurrs” within its collection chassis, growing their own ammunition. Wounds suffered from spurrs are notoriously grievous, the barbed enamel growths often becoming embedded in flesh and causing infection and internal hemorrhaging. *'Plasm Weapons' – Plasma, the fourth state of matter, in utilized by a variety of species for a variety of purposes. The Esoterica utilizes it for its sheer impossibility, weaponizing its mere concept of transcending physical boundaries. A Plasm weapon spits great gouts of ghostly matter, incorporeal until it strikes its target, whereupon it burns like phosphor. Such weapons are known to phase partially through intended targets, the colorless flame burning within and without, often in spite of there being no oxygen to fuel its blaze. For this reason, Plasm weapons are prized for their anti-armor capabilities. *'Krasis Weapons' – These rare but devastating weapons are programmable: all they require beforehand is a sample of the target creature’s DNA in order for them to lock on to their soul-signature. Once activated, they release bow waves of eldritch energy that target a creature’s fundamental identity, boiling the blood, flaying the psyche, until naught remains but a contorted husk. When deployed, Krasis weaponry tend to be used in concert with mass assaults by Nekiamatic constructs; they have no souls to effect and thus remain untouched while the enemy wither. There are even rumors of Krasis devices that can afflict specific bloodlines, allowing Aeterni to wipe out an entire lineage in a concentrated burst of witchlight. Melee Weaponry *'Cisors' – A Cisor is more than just some exotic form of power weapon: a Cisor is an extension of an Aeterni’s Lacuna into a razor-edged, deadly shape. Forged through ill-understood methods known only by a chosen few, each Cisor is a one-of-a-kind masterwork crafted for a specific Aeternus, often garnering as much infamy as the one who wields it. What makes these blades so prized and deadly is their ability to cut past physical defenses, finding the seam where the soul conjoins to the body and separating it, ending a creature in but a single stroke. The Eternal Ones have a name for it: Cisorakta, an entire martial art based around locating that one, perfect strike. Even other Aeterni are not safe from its bite, such is the grim promise such a weapon carries. *'Syringic Weapons' – A more commonplace weapon of the Aeterni are Syringic, typically taking the form of daggers, short blades, or gauntlet-mounted claws. Their wicked edges are perforated with micro-serrations and pressure-activated stipules that release potent anti-coagulants into an enemy’s veins, collecting the spilt blood into collection capsules located in the hilt or wrist compartment. Through this, an Aeternus can feed upon a victim even as they rend them to bleeding shreds. *'Spurrblades' – One of the more common forms of melee weaponry within the Dominion, Spurrblades vary drastically in design, ranging from short bayonets to full-on sideswords granted to worthy Tithed, but their basic makeup is the same. Amelogenic tissue is corded around a solid “core” of tempered steel, then cultivated into the shape of a jagged, bone-colored blade. Many possess disruptor fields for added lethality, but the true advantage of a Spurrblade is in its self-repair capabilities. Should the blade become chipped or damaged in combat, it will eventually secret new enamel to fill the gap, adding another thorny hook or barb to the blade’s edge. Armor *'Lorica Armor' – Those mortals within the Dominion who routinely take to the battlefield usually do so in Lorica, a sort of composite plate similar to Carapace armor, with the main difference being that portions of the armor are padded with Nekiamatic tissue that adjusts to the wearer’s biorhythms, allowing for greater flexibility and mobility. *'Spurrplate' – The Dominion’s answer to Power Armor, consisting of a framework of amelogenic fibers and disturbingly tendon-like structures, over which grow plates of diamond-hard enamel further reinforced by metallic splints and banding. A full set of Spurrplate is a thing of jagged-edged, baroque beauty, possessing self-repair secretions and internal “musculature” that greatly increases the wearer’s strength and speed. Nekiatech “Nekiatech” is a blanket term refers to the Esoterica’s stock and trade; the strange, often seemingly enchanted technology that blurs the line between organic and mechanical, alive and dead. The syncretic blend of ritual and science that the Esoterica practices is not a static thing: it constantly shifts and re-invents, as erratic as the Aeterni who practice it. Those items and augments that are deemed particularly effective by the Eternal Dominion are often named for their inventor, even as said creator toils daily to improve upon the original schematic, spawning numerous varietals and sub-types. More “established” Nekiatech includes: *'Auto-Anastasis' – A form of highly invasive personal protection taking the form of Nekiamatic “pseudo-organs” surgically implanted within high-ranking Tithed. Upon the implanted person suffering serious or even fatal damage, the organs activate, spinning into a network of rapidly metastasizing fibrous tissue that seals wounds, bolsters failing organs, and purges any foreign contaminants from the system. To an outside observer it appears as though the Tithed suddenly resurrects, though there are drawbacks. For starters, Auto-Anastasis only works once, and there’s a limit to what it can repair: it can’t, for example, regenerate lost limbs or parts of the anatomy that are wholly missing. *'Liminal Shifter' – A device that often takes the form of an amulet or similar bauble, allowing the user to step sideways into the Lychway for but a few seconds. A Liminal Shifter is not so much a teleporter as it is a means of personal defense: to an outside observer, it appears as though projectiles and melee weapons pass through their intended target as though they were made of mist. However, this defense can and has be countered through the use of psy-reactive weaponry. *'Hand of Glory' – A specially-crafted gauntlet that, when activated, allows the wearer to take control of nearby Nekiamatic constructs as though they were extension of their own body, directing their movements as though manipulating an unseen marionette. A Hand of Glory allows for an uncanny amount of coordination, allowing the wielder to cause Helots to converge on a specific target or serve as personal bulwarks against enemy attacks. *'Amenthene Scepter' – Also called ‘’Stygian Scepters’’, when wielded by an Aeternus these ebon staves direct the Lacuna in a focused burst of negative energy, sapping the will and resolve of any living creature caught in its wake. More weak-willed individuals simply numbly drop to their knees, shivering and weeping, making their wholesale slaughter all the easier. *'Opsis Infelix' – A Nekiamatic procedure grafted directly into the subject’s optic nerve, that when activated gives the user a temporary view of the intersection between Fundament and Firmament, the whole world briefly becoming an endless lattice of tethers humming with pent-up psychic resonance. Naturally, by locating a specific “cord”, the user can track a specific individual via soul-signature and thereby circumvent any technologies that might conceal their presence. However, the ‘’Opsis Infelix’’ cannot detect anything that does not possess a soul, such as a psychic Blank. *'Mantle of Chlamys' – Resembling a great cloak made from a leathery, veined material, when in its “resting” state the mantle is little more than an affectation, though admittedly a very durable one that can serve as an extra layer of defense against non-powered blades and small arms fire. When active, however, the mantle stiffens and unfurls into a pair of great chiropteran wings. These wings are actually highly sensitive swaths of Nekiamatic tissue that interface directly with the wielder’s nervous system, allowing the wielder an extra set of limbs to fly, glide, or even strike out at enemies with its bony dewclaws. *'Signet Intaglio' – At first glance, this device appears to be nothing more than an ornate ring, a Court signet carved into the onyx gemstone on its face. In reality, that gemstone is actually crystalized Ichor, donated by the Aeternus who helped create it and in so doing imbuing the ring with a metaphysical aura of dominance. Thus, any creature wearing such a ring is quite literally invested with authority, causing nearby sentient creatures' thoughts subtly slide towards obedience and sycophancy when in their presence. A massive advantage, especially at the negotiation table, though any creature that is even remotely psychically sensitive will detect the mental intrusion. Landcraft *'Nekiamatic Walrider' – Essentially a form of jetbike, though one propelled by a particularly exotic Nekiamatic mechanism known as an Inertial Inverter. So long as it maintains blisteringly high speeds, a Walrider can “cling” to virtually any surface regardless of its position, hence the name. The Helots hard-wired into its navigation cysts provide the direction, as any living creature likely would not survive the concentrated g-force. Able to be fitted with a variety of weaponry depending on the battlefield, Walriders tend to make for excellent reconnaissance vehicles. *'Tindalos Soulstruct' - Resembling a massive hound constructed of black steel, bony plates and exposed, eerily organic sinews, a Tindalos Soulstruct is a favored mount of the Aeterni not only for its tirelessness and savage rending claws, but also for their ability enter and exit the Lychway in short bursts, allowing them to circumvent conventional defenses and attack from unexpected angles. *'Psychomanteum' – A Psychomantium can serve as either a static defense emplacement or a massive but cumbersome war engine, the true “heart” any such machine being a massive mirror-smooth monolith made from pure, crystalized Ichor harvested over a century or more. On the battlefield, it acts as a sort of spiritual siphon, slowly but surely building up energy as it collects the life essence of the dead and dying. Once the monolith is thrumming with energy, hidden mechanisms release the stored power in a shockwave of soulstuff, reinvigorating nearby Aeterni and Nekiamatic constructs, whereas the living suffer the unique agony of having their own souls scoured with eldritch force. *'Rhamunian Harvester' – The most prevalent series of Dominion armored support derives their names from the apocryphal Tale of the Three Sisters, a story about a trio of Esotericists during the Second Great Cull ''charged with excavating a vale choked with corpses (for many folkloric tales within the Dominion tend to trend towards the macabre). The eldest sister, Rhamune, thought it prudent not to waste such a potential source of Helots, and so created a machine designed to collect, store, and transport the bodies. The Rhamunian Harvester, as it was named, features a frontal compartment that splits open like the maw of some great lamprey to reveal a host of autonomous Nekiamatic collection tendrils. These barb-tipped tentacles make little distinction between the living and the dead, however, and those unfortunates that don’t die from being impaled on their length bleed out and suffocate in the tank’s cavernous collection hold. Future iterations featured turret hardpoints on its sides and back, warding off flanking maneuvers as the Harvester rumbles forward, seeking fresh cadavers. *'Phelgian Harrier''' – Phelgia, the most impatient of the Sisters, sought only to move past the obstacle afforded by the Choked Vale, and so created a machine designed to plow straight through bodies. The Harrier’s bladed prow, forward-facing gun batteries, and overclocked engines accomplish just that, but some of these light tanks take this offensive mobility a step further by incorporating Mass Liminal Shifters into their design, allowing both tank and crew to temporarily phase through obstacles before exploding straight into enemy ranks in order to sow further havoc. *'Ephyrian Desolator' – Ephyr was perhaps the most simplistic of Sisters: she saw the Choked Vale as an obstacle, and so endeavored to create a machine possessed of enough firepower to utterly eradicate it. The Desolator superheavy is deployed when such a thing is required in a combat theater, its titanic bulk capable of fielding some of the most destructive variants of Dominion weaponry. From massive Plasmcannons to fore-mounted Krasis Generators, it’s a testament to the effectiveness of the Ephyrian Desolator that it remains to this day the epitome of Dominion heavy artillery. Starcraft The Revenant Dominion’s naval component is somewhat underdeveloped, mainly due to the fact that until recently the Protectorate had never had to engage in protracted interstellar combat. As such, the possess only two major forms of starship:' Cairnships' and Dromonds. Cairnships are titanic edifices representing the Dominion’s attempts at reverse-engineering the design of the Dark Age Colony Ark that first brought their ancestors to the Empty Corridor. Not only are they so large as to have entire Protectorate Themas dedicated to their crewing and maintenance, but are actually the only Dominion starship capable of faster-than-light travel: as their superstructure is vast enough to support and power internal Lychgates. That being said, the sheer upkeep costs of a Cairnship prevent the Dominion from retaining more than a few dozen these miniature space fortresses. Dromonds are a highly adaptable form of starcraft that in any other fleet would likely be comparable to escorts or light frigates in design and combat role. Said combat role varies: some are dedicated troop transports capable of void-to-atmosphere transition, others are used for direct conflict with enemy fleet elements. Whatever the case, Dromonds are incapable of FTL travel, relying either on the Dominion’s network of orbital Lychgates, or docking within a larger Cairnship. In this way, when a Cairnship translates in-system, it releases swarms of Dromonds in the same way that other vessels might release Attack Craft. Relations with Other Factions Feel Free to Add The Revenant Dominion, having only recently emerged on to the galactic stage, has only encountered a scant few of the Milky Way’s many factions. Only time will tell how they adapt to those threats still unknown to them. Imperium of Man When the Court Hierarchy first learned of the Imperium’s existence, the news was met with a great contentment: truly, it seemed their far-flung cousins had led the lambs to the slaughter for them. Of course, the Dominion has only encountered a fraction of the Imperium’s true might, and even then, said fraction has proven troublesome. This is due mainly to the inherent superstition of the greater Imperial populace: the Aeterni are well aware of their resemblance to certain folkloric cryptids of human myth, and civilian response to this has served as both an advantage and an irritant. On the one hand, it is quite enjoyable to see the hope drain from their faces as they walk unburnt in the sunlight and stakes to the heart do nothing but elicit a snarl of annoyance. On the other hand, their deep-seated theocracy makes indoctrinating them into the Dominion’s particular way of thinking difficult, as they’re far more likely to decry the Eternal Ones as unholy fiends than bow in supplication. The Courts would never admit this, but after centuries spent in the Empty Corridor surrounded by Tithed sycophants, many are quite unused to a mortal populace that does not consider baring their wrists and throats an honor. Thus, their new territories in the Annex Worlds are constantly beset by dissention. On the other side of the conflict, Lord-Inquisitor Ardelean and his Vlachian Cabal may be the only high-ranking Imperials in the galaxy truly aware of the threat the Dominion poses. With the Astronomican flickering and guttering across the Imperium Nihilus, word does not travel quickly or easily. Ardelean has attempted many times to send warnings to Holy Terra, but insofar each attempt has failed; the messengers swallowed up by Warp Storms or intercepted by the Dominion Protectorate. Still, the Inquisitorial vanguard persists, all the while gathering more intelligence on the Eternal Ones as to best take their measure and wipe them from the face of the God-Emperor’s domain. Such a day cannot come soon enough: for the Annex Worlds are still unstable, but eventually the Court Hierarchy will stamp out the last embers of resistance and sink their fangs deeper into the Segmentum… Eldar “Hate” is too small a word to describe the intense, absolute loathing Eldar hold for the Aeterni. Abominations, defilers of sacred soil, mon’keigh arrogance incarnate; these are the only titles any Eldar- be they Asuryani, Drukhari, or Ynnari- would saddle the Eternal Ones with. They squat upon the Shel’hreenur like the ghastly parasites they are, carelessly carving rents into the skein through their perverse mechanisms, and all to persist past their species’ feeble lifespan. Could the Eldar gather into a force great enough to lay siege to the Empty Corridor, the battles would likely be genocidal in scope and scale, the wrath of Khaine unleashed. The Court Hierarchy, meanwhile, looks coolly upon the Eldar’s rage with nothing but quiet scorn and pity. Who are they, these aliens whose last vestiges cling to the galaxy by their fingertips, to judge them? The Eldar were born with a longevity and foresight the first Aeterni fought and bled for, yet the former squandered those gifts, making them no better than the indolent Firstborn that the Revenant Dominion deposed. To them, their rage is ineffectual and childish, and thus is taken just as seriously. That is not to say Eldar are not welcome within the Dominion: their psychically-charged souls are particularly delicious. Forces of Chaos The Revenant Dominion is a society well aware of the Ruinous Powers and the dangers they represent, or at the very least, their upper echelons are. The masses beneath them have long since been taught of the Hollow Gods in the same way that children are taught of the bogeyman, and the Questorate ensures that their attitudes remain adversarial to the occult and ephemeral. True power, they teach, it something you can grasp in your fist. It cannot be bargained for or negotiated, only earned. The Eternal Ones rule because they rejected the Fundament and in so doing became masters of the Firmament: they took what they desired rather than let their desires be shaped by the Hollow Gods’ lies. It’s all propaganda of course, but its proven effective in keeping Chaotic influences to a minimum so far. The Aeterni- as they are now at least- represent a continual frustration for the Dark Gods. They are static things that change painfully slowly, they do not sicken or decay, they kill for sustenance rather than for its own sake, and they do not believe in excess- and their Compact condemns those who do. Still, the Empyrean inevitably finds a way, the recent influence of the Gnaw is proof of that. Only time will tell if they erect new barriers to keep it at bay, or be consumed by the consequences of their own metaphysical tampering. Quotes By About Feel Free to Add Category:Empires